[FireSpawn]

Over the last week, there has been a citywide search for a 12 year old girl who completely vanished off the face of the earth a week ago.
Today a body was found in the granparent's house, and the police say that it is highly likely that it is the girl and her step-grandfather is the prime suspect. There is more in this article: http://news.sky.com/story/971123/missing-tia-sharp-manhunt-after-body-found

Now, this was only found today and already there are people calling for the man's blood. Now if he's guilty, I don't give a flying **** what happens to him. But there are already "Wanted: Dead -Not- Alive" posters going about the social networking sites, and granted- social networking sites aren't exactly a reliable method to gauge behaviour, it is likely that some people may attempt take the law into their own hands and forgo the standard justice process.
When a massive organized pedophile ring that also trafficked children to and from the UK was discovered and had several members convicted, there was outrage and disgust but not the sheer level of animosity that this one man (who has not yet been found guilty) has garnered.
This has baffled me. Why is is that the life of a single girl is held closer to a societies heart than those of countless victims who were known to have been subjected to a horrific fate from an early age?

I know we have some bright sparks (and even more dim ones  ), so I'm intrested in what you lot have to say on the matter.

[BloodEagle]

One death is a tragedy.  One thousand deaths is a statistic.

[Sushi]

Mob Mentality? On my internet?

Surely you must be joking.

[FireSpawn]

Mob Mentality? On my internet?

Surely you must be joking.

It's not so much the mob mentality as the massive reaction to, looking at it against the bigger picture, an event that is only significant to a small group of people. Countless people die every day, many in horrific and gruesome ways. My neighbour's cousin (she also went to the same school as me) got raped and dismembered alive in a flat ten minutes away from where we live, several years ago. The police did their thing, it was all over the news, yet it didn't garner this much rage.

Was it because she was a teen? Was it because of the are she was from or snatched? Skin colour and ethnicity? Those are the things that have caught my intrest. What has gripped at the heart of the people so strongly?

[Klaustrophobia]

society is irrational.  more as this story develops.

[karajorma]

Hell, even if you forget innocent until proven guilty, the possibility exists that Tia died from an accident and the guy covered it up thinking he'd get blamed or something.

At this point we don't even know if it was murder, let alone the motives for it. It's pretty stupid to start baying for blood.

[Alex Heartnet]

It's not so much the mob mentality as the massive reaction to, looking at it against the bigger picture, an event that is only significant to a small group of people. Countless people die every day, many in horrific and gruesome ways. My neighbour's cousin (she also went to the same school as me) got raped and dismembered alive in a flat ten minutes away from where we live, several years ago. The police did their thing, it was all over the news, yet it didn't garner this much rage.

Was it because she was a teen? Was it because of the are she was from or snatched? Skin colour and ethnicity? Those are the things that have caught my intrest. What has gripped at the heart of the people so strongly?

I was going to post about how this is because society's moral compass is broken, but you pretty much hit the nail on the head.

I believe that news companies are at fault here for giving this story a disproportionate amount of coverage.  This type of over-reporting only serves to distract citizens from more significant problems.

[666maslo666]

Why is is that the life of a single girl is held closer to a societies heart than those of countless victims who were known to have been subjected to a horrific fate from an early age?

Child abuse vs. murder, one is worse than the other. So the level of societys outrage seems to fit. Anyway, I wouldnt give much importance to the amount of outrage, it is often pretty random. What is important is that in both cases criminals will be convicted and punished.

[Alex Heartnet]

Child abuse vs. murder, one is worse than the other. So the level of societys outrage seems to fit. Anyway, I wouldnt give much importance to the amount of outrage, it is often pretty random. What is important is that in both cases criminals will be convicted and punished.

Unfortunately, there are so many other things that the media could be reporting on right now.  As of late the big US media outlets haven been content with over-reporting on relatively small things, making the small issue seem like a huge one.  Sounds like the UK media outlets are no different in that regard.

[FireSpawn]

That is true, but I want to know how it goes from "Body found, grandfather wanted for questioning" to "HE'S A CHILD KILLING NONSE, HANG HIM! USE THE *Medieval torture device of your choice* ON HIM!"

Does being wanted for questioning make one instantly guilty of whatever it is the authorities want information on? Because if that is so, witnesses are also as guilty as the perpetrator.

[Dragon]

Unfortunately, there are so many other things that the media could be reporting on right now.  As of late the big US media outlets haven been content with over-reporting on relatively small things, making the small issue seem like a huge one.  Sounds like the UK media outlets are no different in that regard.

If it bleeds, it leads. Media are often more interested in making a big fuss so they can have their ratings/sales go up than in reporting things that are actually important. Violent crimes, especially if they involve children or sex (particularly if they include both) attract the most attention, and thus, media prefer to report them. And of course, an old man wanted for questioning isn't half as interesting as an old man who killed his granddaughter, so you can expect media to jump to conclusions, and try to cash in on the outrage.

[Flipside]

It's a common problem in the UK, especially from the position of the media, that people have forgotten what 'arrest' actually means. It doesn't mean they've found the culprit, most arrests are made 'on the suspicion of...', which means the investigating officer believes there is enough evidence to implicate the person as the possible guilty party. They are suspects, not criminals.

Considering the child was found in his partners house, there's perfectly good reason to suspect the person and to arrest his freedom of activity until that suspicion has been proved or disproved.

What scares me more is that someone two years younger than me is a grandparent...

[Unknown Target]

Ever seen the Boondocks? One little white girl goes missing and the whole country is going nuts. Fifty college age dudes get murdered and people are like "eh".